Sign in Subscribe
5 min read EV

MID-WEEK NEWS CODEX: Senate Bill 254; Reducing Electric Rates; CARB Amendments

  • California's $200 Million EV Incentive Program to Require Matching Funds from Automakers: "The proposal would allow incentives to defray the upfront purchase costs for new or used EVs but the incentive amounts have not yet been announced. Eligible vehicles will face price caps adopted by Congress in 2022." REUTERS
  • California's High-Wire Act to Save Money on Power Lines: "One of the energy policy “planes” that landed in the final days of last year’s legislative session had in its cargo hold a rough draft of a plan that aims to save billions of dollars on new power lines.  The proposal in Senate Bill 254 seeks to save money on transmission financing costs, which over decades can exceed the actual costs of designing and building new high-voltage lines because of return-on-equity requirements under the prevailing utility-based model. It’s a novel approach to containing costs as California builds out its grid to meet growing electricity demand and its clean energy goals. But there are risks, and lawmakers and the administration should prioritize protecting competition among private developers as the proposal takes shape." THE CURRENT
  • California Can Reduce Electric Rates by Easing State Mandates: "One sacred cow that the state should re-examine is its renewable energy mandates. California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that electric utilities procure 52% of their energy from renewable sources by 2027, with the required amount rising to 60% by 2030. California’s RPS is one of the most stringent in the nation and these requirements are and will push electric rates higher. Research suggests that solar and wind power do not drive up electricity prices, but this is only true when their deployment is due to market forces. Where renewable deployment is driven by a RPS, it is associated with increasing power prices." DAILY BULLETIN
  • California is Lagging on Wind Development – Why? "For starters, solar got cheap. Renewable energy procurement in California has largely been driven by renewable portfolio standard requirements, which don’t distinguish between solar and wind. So when solar prices dropped sharply, California electricity providers went all-in on solar and procured much less wind." UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
  • California Sues Trump Administration Over Sable Pipeline Approval: "California is suing the federal government for taking regulatory authority over Sable Offshore Corp.’s Las Flores Pipeline System. The pipeline, which was shut down following the 2015 Refugio oil spill, is critical to restarting oil production in the Santa Ynez Unit." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
  • CARB Proposes Amendments to California's Cap-and-Trade Rules: "CARB’s proposal would significantly tighten the supply of emissions allowances in future years. Staff estimates indicate that the revised cap trajectory would remove roughly 118 million allowances from circulation during the 2027–2030 period, reflecting a more aggressive emissions-reduction pathway consistent with state climate policy." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
  • CPUC Draft Decision Examines 2022-2023 Gas Price Spikes: "...SoCalGas customers saw an average 147-percent increase in their January 2023 gas bills compared with January 2022 bills, and PG&E’s customers saw, on average, a 30-percent increase in their gas bills over the same period." CALIFORNIA ENERGY MARKETS
  • EPA Blocks California's Out-of-State Truck Inspection Rule: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule January 27, 2026 disapproving of California’s inspection and maintenance requirements on out-of-state trucks passing through the state. The EPA approved California’s Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance Regulation only as it applies to in-state registered vehicles. The EPA proposed its disapproval of the so-called Clean Truck Check rule on out-of-state vehicles in August 2025." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
  • Evaluating the Drivers of PG&E Electricity Rate Growth: "Despite existing legislative requirements, the CPUC does not regularly audit IOU spending to verify that expenditures approved in each GRC were spent as authorized. Absent such oversight, ratepayers face the risk of funding the same activities multiple times, approved activities not happening, and funds being redirected for activities never authorized in the GRC. The CPUC should increase its audit capacity to systematically conduct retrospective reviews when evaluating new IOU revenue requests in each GRC cycle." AVA COMMUNITY ENERGY
  • Federal Review Opens Path to New Drilling Off the Coast of California: "The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on January 26, 2026 issued two Calls for Information and Nominations covering previously protected federal waters off Southern and Central California. The notices begin a preliminary review under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and invite public and industry input on environmental conditions, potential commercial interest, and socioeconomic impacts. The 'calls' formally initiate a process that could lead to the first new offshore lease sales in the region since 1984." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
  • The Case for Consumer-Regulated Electricity – Private Electricity Grids Offer a Parallel Path to Energy Abundance: "New customers who value speed to power, exemplified by large data centers, are less concerned about the cost of electricity and more focused on the far greater business opportunity ahead of them. Put differently, the opportunity cost of not being able to run their facilities dwarfs the cost of electricity. Today’s power sector is holding those customers back, and it’s not merely a problem of insufficient generation or transmission. It is a problem of poor institutional design." CATO INSTITUTE
  • The Radical Grid Idea Gaining Traction on the Right – and the Left: "California already has some degree of retail choice, although a more expansive version of a retail competition model infamously collapsed during the 2001 rolling blackouts." HEATMAP
  • Tom Steyer Vows to Cut Electricity Bills by 25% but Experts Say the Details Fall Short: "Steyer says there are some ways to force the major investor-owned utilities to lower rates: by giving customers more options of who to buy power from; hooking up new renewable generation sources to the grid faster; and, with the advent of better solar and battery technology, allowing more power to be bought and sold at the neighborhood level. 'We have a lot of flat roofs in this state and those flat roofs can do solar,' he said at a press conference this month." CAL MATTERS
  • Valero Shut Down Benicia Refinery January 31st – CA Gas Prices Already Climbing: "California today produces less than 23% of its own in-state petroleum needs and imports over 65% of its crude oil from foreign sources, yet the oil and gas industry in California account for nearly 8% of the state’s GDP, even in its diminished capacity." CALIFORNIA GLOBE
  • Western Natural Gas Providers Watching Post-Fern Pricing: "...Constellation analysts found that more gas-fired generation in northern California was moved south, 'explaining why SP15 day ahead prices have cleared over NP15 despite abundant sunshine and solar production.' The analysts called this 'welcome news for gas storage operators who were looking for the opportunity to pull gas out of storage in order to clear space for the upcoming refill season.' They also noted SoCalGas’ filing to maintain or increase Aliso Canyon storage inventory levels." CALIFORNIA ENERGY MARKETS

Published by:

MC

You might also like...